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I have a few questions im.hoping someone can.helo me with.this dilemma

#1. The Designer I hired is just copying and pasting free versions of vector images .. I specifically asked him to create them.himself
I sketched out the whole.drawing and asked him to make I look better to his own creative works

#2. He is saying the websites he is using can be paid for contributions or something ..so not sure what to do next as this the 3rd week I'm dealing with his shenanigans.. just wasting my time

Any refernces or advice would be grateful

[JoanneP]

Hi Paul,

I'm sorry to hear about that. You have the option to hire another freelancer to help you complete the project and just pay the current freelancer with partial payment if that's what you prefer. However, if you choose to keep on working with your current freelancer, you may discuss with them again and let them know that you are not satisfied with the work submitted. You can choose the option to request changes so that the payment for the milestone will not be released until they submit the corrected work. 

[feed_my_eyes]

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Joanne Marie P wrote:

Hi Paul,

I'm sorry to hear about that. You have the option to hire another freelancer to help you complete the project and just pay the current freelancer with partial payment if that's what you prefer. However, if you choose to keep on working with your current freelancer, you may discuss with them again and let them know that you are not satisfied with the work submitted. You can choose the option to request changes so that the payment for the milestone will not be released until they submit the corrected work. 

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Taking logos from stock websites and trying to sell them to clients as one's own work should be against Upwork's terms of service. The freelancer is a fraud and shouldn't be paid at all - they should be removed from the platform. When is Upwork going to start taking this seriously?

[m_terrazas]

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Joanne Marie P wrote:

Hi Paul,

I'm sorry to hear about that. You have the option to hire another freelancer to help you complete the project and just pay the current freelancer with partial payment if that's what you prefer. However, if you choose to keep on working with your current freelancer, you may discuss with them again and let them know that you are not satisfied with the work submitted. You can choose the option to request changes so that the payment for the milestone will not be released until they submit the corrected work. 

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I think this is what I needed to read to know, finally, that Upwork does not care about the theft of images, logos, presentations, etc ...
Christine (+1000) is right. When is Upwork going to take this problem seriously?
I do not know how many times we have discussed this in the forum and the reasons given for doing nothing (when reasons are given) show a total ignorance of the subject of copyright and the problems that all these "phonies" can cause to the client.

I think that's enough.

[mtngigi]

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Joanne Marie P wrote:

Hi Paul,

I'm sorry to hear about that. You have the option to hire another freelancer to help you complete the project and just pay the current freelancer with partial payment if that's what you prefer. However, if you choose to keep on working with your current freelancer, you may discuss with them again and let them know that you are not satisfied with the work submitted. You can choose the option to request changes so that the payment for the milestone will not be released until they submit the corrected work. 

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Joanne, all due respect, but the current freelancer should not be paid anything. The current freelancer isn't a graphic designer, they are one of many who know how to use other people's artwork to rip off clients. They should be removed from the platform.

Honestly, how many times does Upwork need to hear about this issue before doing something? Simply stop auto-accepting anyone and everyone, especially in this category. Hire someone to look at their portfolios, seriously. I guarantee you'll find thousands who use stolen artwork as their own.

Vlad knows ... I used to share a lot of those frauds, but gave up because nothing is ever done to eliminate them. Clients who go through this once, are clients Upwork loses, and honest freelancers lose as well.

[feed_my_eyes]

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Paul D wrote:

I have a few questions im.hoping someone can.helo me with.this dilemma

#1. The Designer I hired is just copying and pasting free versions of vector images .. I specifically asked him to create them.himself
I sketched out the whole.drawing and asked him to make I look better to his own creative works

#2. He is saying the websites he is using can be paid for contributions or something ..so not sure what to do next as this the 3rd week I'm dealing with his shenanigans.. just wasting my time

Any refernces or advice would be grateful

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I'm sorry that this happened to you and I really do wish that Upwork would ban fraudulent freelancers from its website instead of telling clients to pay them and move on. It hurts all of us when clients have a bad experience like yours. I hope that you will give this freelancer an accurate review in order to warn other clients.

If you do decide to give Upwork another chance, I suggest that you re-post this as an hourly project and clearly state in your project description that manual time will be disabled and that you will be checking the screen captures. Even if you have a fairly good idea and a sketch to base the design upon, you should budget for at least 3-5 hours of time, and please keep in mind that you get what you pay for (although I have seen fraudulent freelancers who do charge high hourly rates, in general, the less you pay, the greater the chances that you'll get somebody who doesn't know what they're doing). 

Before you choose someone, look at the freelancers' logo samples and randomly right-click on some of them, then choose "Search Google for image" from the drop-down menu. This should allow you to see whether their portfolio samples have been downloaded from stock websites. (But you should also beware of freelancers whose logo samples are all shown embossed onto business cards or on items like mugs or signs, since some of them do this to avoid detection.) 

When you hire someone, only allow a maximum of 5 hours in the first week. Look at the screen captures in the work diary and if you don't see the freelancer actually drawing something, using software like Adobe Illustrator - and see them making progress - then pause the contract. Any screen captures that show the freelancer browsing stock websites instead of actually drawing something can be contested.

Good luck, and I hope that you find a talented and honest freelancer (they do exist!).

[VladimirG]

Hi Paul,

As a follow up on the information Joanne shared, a member of our team will reach out to you shortly to directly assist you with the contract concerns you're having. You'll receive a notification on your registered email address and I'd kindly ask you to follow up on the support ticket and continue the conversation there. Thank you.

[mtngigi]

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Paul D wrote:

I have a few questions im.hoping someone can.helo me with.this dilemma

#1. The Designer I hired is just copying and pasting free versions of vector images .. I specifically asked him to create them.himself
I sketched out the whole.drawing and asked him to make I look better to his own creative works

#2. He is saying the websites he is using can be paid for contributions or something .. so not sure what to do next as this the 3rd week I'm dealing with his shenanigans.. just wasting my time

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Paul - most of those sites offer a suggestion (if you download something) of a donation to the artist, like $5 for a cup of coffee. You don't even have to pay if you chose not to.

That is what he is referring to. Artwork from those sites is meant specifically to be used for personal and not commercial applications.